Bowie Lam and Roger Kwok are in the process of contract negotiations. Accordingly, Bowie has three principal conditions: a pay increase from $50,000 to $65,000 per episode, a choice to film one series per year, and that he may accept outside jobs while filming. As for Roger, he has requested a pay increase from $50,000 to $60,000 per episode, to film one series per year, and that he may mainly focus on filming Mainland series.
Personal Note: If these are the correct figures, then Kenneth Ma is definitely underpaid.
Where's Joe Ma?
Wonder what Bobby Au Yeung's fee is, as he has received international recognition for his acting, and is popular among a wide audience....
Usually, non-contracted artistes are paid more than managed artistes; however, it was mentioned earlier that Felix Wong received a much lower fee than Michael Miu for "Gun Metal Grey" despite Felix's status in the television industry.
oh wow, some of these are a little surprising. I expected kevin to get a little more since he did get tv king. Kenneth Ma is definitely underpaid.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what the female's side looks like? I'm sure that Charmaine is the highest paid, but I'm curious about other fa dans.
I also wonder what Bobby gets, are these only TVB managed artists?
ReplyDeleteInteresting figures! We all can agree that Kenneth Ma is underpaid. For those whose contract will end in 2017 - that's a long way!
ReplyDeleteI agree, comparatively, Ma Ming is not paid enough. And I think Bowie & Roger are asking for too much. They are already the highest-paid actors & they want more & pick & choose what they want to film. Spare a thought for the less known actors.
ReplyDeleteTo AC:
ReplyDeleteWouldn't expect much discrepancy among the fa dans.
To sport3888:
If you read closely, it says that these are the fees for TVB-managed male artistes. The fees of non-managed artistes were not mentioned in the "Sudden Weekly" article.
To Tracy:
When Ron and Bosco first signed with TVB, it was mentioned that they signed a 15-year contract with TVB. They signed during the "Triumph" days, so it would make sense that their contract would end in 2017. They should be discussing renewals soon.
To Hi:
If this is what they are requesting, wonder what their Mainland fees are, as actors tend to receive much higher pay when filming Mainland series.
6 years is a long way from now. Hopefully we'll see some breakthrough performances from Raymond, Ron and Bosco.
ReplyDeleteI think TVB pay too low for their artists. 10 years ago, Dodo, Nancy Sit, Jessica, Ester, Ada got about nearly/over 20.000 HK$ per episode. I can't believe the actors nowadays get too less.
ReplyDeleteA secret source has revealed to a certain HK magazine about TVB stars salaries, and the magazine has now publushed the figures.
ReplyDeleteTVB's highest paid actresses
1. Liza Wong - HK$60,000 per episode
2. Kenix Kwok - $47,000
3. Gigi Lai - $45,000
4. Jessica Hsuan - $44,000
5. Charmaine Sheh - $25,000
Brief translation of the article below:
Gigi Lai and Bowie Lam get the highest pay to sing songs at events, they both received $35,000 for just singing 4 songs at an event.
But when it comes to salaries for filming TVB series, the highest paid is still Liza Wong, getting $60,000 per episode. Followed by Kenix Kowk with $47,000. On the actors side, Roger Kwok gets the highest with $60,000, equal to that of Liza's.
After the success of War and Beauty, Gigi Lai's salary has multiplied by 9 times. Before WAB, she gets $5000 per episode, but after the filming of WAB and winning the TVB fave actress award, she now gets $45,000 per episode, her salary has multiplied by 9 times, making her the actress with the fastest salary rise. Now she receives far more than Charmaine Sheh, who receives $25,000 per episode.
>::::::::::::::::::
It's 5 years ago. TVB finance is coming down, so the artists' fee is down too?
And in 2003, when Square Pegs is famous in Mainland, the China producers invited Jessica and Roger filming together and the fee for them was 50.000 for Jessica and 30.000 for Roger. But Jessica was busy so she introduced Michelle Ye for replacing. That means Mainland fees always more than 2-3 times than TVB paid.
ReplyDeleteHyn5, do you know when Selena's contract ends? If I don't remember wrongly, she signed a TVB contract after Miss Hong Kong (in 2003) then later in 2006 she renewed her contract for 7 years, so I guess it should be 2013 somewhere? But maybe she already renewed in the meantime.
ReplyDeleteTo Alec Nguyen:
ReplyDeleteTVB actors' filming fees should be greater now, but is still considered low when compared to their fees for filming Mainland productions.
Also, Ron said recently that his Mainland fees are 2 to 3 times more than his fee for filming for TVB.
To lizzy:
Don't know when Selena's contract ends.
TVB pay is way too low... too bad the artist dont join a real union.
ReplyDeleteTVB human resource should do an investigation into this leaking of confidential information, and sack the culprit. That being said, I would like to have known the date of signing, too.
ReplyDeleteAnd what about Sunny Chan?
@Alec - I guess non-managed artists make more than managed artists. Can't believe Kenix and Gigi are paid that much.
ReplyDeleteBack in the days, Marianne Chan and Jessica Hsuan were the highest paid actresses.
Things definitely have changed over time.
Although Charmaine made less from filming series, she racked in a lot from endorsements and promotions.
To Tracy:
ReplyDeleteMariane and Jessica were never the highest paid actresses, especially Mariane. Of the top seven fa dans, Esther and Marianne were the lowest paid. Kenix was always the highest paid fa dan due to the success of the DIF franchise.
Nope, In 2000s, Jessica was the highest paid actress after DodoCheng and Nancy Sit.
ReplyDeleteIn Jan 5th 2000, at the custome fitting of "War of Genders", TVB magazines said that Dodo Cheng, Nancy Sit and Liza Wang with 20.000HK per episode.
ReplyDeleteTop 7 fadans, Jessica got 15k, the same with Ester. Ada got 10k.
To Alec Nguyen:
ReplyDeleteFirstly, what TVB magazine are you referring to? If it is TVB Weekly, there is no way that they would reveal their artistes' fee.
Kenix has always been the highest paid fa dan. When she filmed "Born Rich", it was mentioned that she was still the highest paid.
There was an article that was released during the 2002 period that revealed the following fees:
Kenix Kwok = $40,000
Ada Choi = $30,000
Jessica Hsuan = $20,000
Flora Chan = $20,000
Maggie Cheung = $15,000
Charmaine Sheh = $15,000
Also, Esther revealed that, at the peak of her career, she only received $7,000 per episode.
How come Kenix was the highest paid of the 7 fadans considering she never won an award? If it's because of DIF franchise, wasn't Esther popular for AR? Didn't Jessica's career skyrocket after DIF4?
ReplyDeleteAlthough Kenix never won an award, she was always favored by the viewers. TVB was going to sign her even though she didn't win Miss HK.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I heard she's very selective with her roles. Same with Maggie Cheung. While the other fadans seem to be typecast.
I'm surprised at the fees of Kenneth and Bosco. Below HKD25,000 is too low. Maybe they signed their contract at a wrong timing? When did Kenneth signed his?
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised at highest pay of Kenix too but what I'm most surprised earlier was that how TVB seems to treat Moses better than Steven, but Steven has the higher pay per episode.
ReplyDeleteThe article I read from HK magazines at "War of Genders" custome fitting on Jan 5th 2000. You can check it again.
ReplyDeleteI already knew about the article in 2002, and it's not easy for us to say Kenix ALWAYS gets the highest paid. It's only from Magazines and they're only at the specific time. We only know some times about the paid.
I get why Sammul Chan didn't renew his contract. He's the same generation with Raymond-Ron-Bosco-Kenneth, but he's gaining popularity in the Mainland market.
ReplyDeleteI think if the actor is famous and his popularity is wide, the contract can be changed. Unless, the salary ia always the same.
ReplyDeleteEven though KK never won 'Best Actress' or 'Fav. Actress', she was one of the few who started out as a female lead in her first series. The DIF franchise were and still are very popular, so it makes sense that she would make the most out of the Fa Dans. Plus, she was in all 3 parts, whereas Jessica was only in part 4.
ReplyDeleteThere was report that said that KK got paid $50,000 per episode when she filmed "Born Rich".
ReplyDelete*Sorry, I posted my comment before finishing typing.
To Jie:
ReplyDeleteKenix's high pay may be due to the fact that most of her series are well-received, and tend to have ratings (her lower rated series would be "Seed of Hope" and "Shine on You"). The DIF franchise is a more successful franchise than AR, and the trio of DIF was extremely popular back then. As for Jessica, she was only in the fourth installment. When people think of DIF, they are more likely to associate this series with Michael, Kenix, and Joey.
To Tracy:
Kenix only became more selective of her roles in recent years. In her earlier years, she was more likely to take on a role based on who her partner was.
To Selina:
Ma Ming became a TVB-managed artiste in 2004. His first series as a TVB-managed artiste was "Scavengers' Paradise".
As for Steven having a higher fee than Moses, Steven just renewed his contract in 2009 (during the filming of "Links"), so a pay increase was most likely one of conditions of his new contract.
To Alec Nguyen:
ReplyDeleteAs outsiders, we do not now about their fees. These are simply the fees that have been reported by the media; thus, the accuracy of these figures is questionable and difficult to determine. However, on a number of occasions, Kenix had been speculated to be the fa dan with the highest filming fee--have not seen reports that say otherwise.
To Jie:
It makes sense that Sammul no longer has a contract with TVB, as he was neither paid much, nor did he get good roles.
To Guru:
Ditto.
I actually like Kenix as an actress. Indeed, her series are well-received. I think out of all the 7 fadans she has the most hits than misses.
ReplyDeleteThis is a little off topic, but did any of the 7 fadans go to acting class? I found their acting very natural in a limited time. Take Kenix for example. Yeah, she started off kinda weak. But she made progress throughout the years and made it a hit in DIF - her strongest performance to date. I loved her in second installment. I also noticed Kenix points a lot with her index when she talks. Hehe
ReplyDeleteTo Tracy:
ReplyDeleteOut of the seven fa dans, only Esther was in an acting class, which was ATV's acting class.
Well, this should explain nicely why the actors leave TVB once their careers takes off and they find better paying jobs with equal or more exposure. The hours are shit and TVB is ridiculously controlling on so many aspects.
ReplyDeleteLiza said that in Club Sparkle her salary is considered low and ~10k/ep so where does this 60k come from
ReplyDelete